Carla and Richard needed lots of space to accommodate their large guest list, but they didn’t have to compromise on the gorgeous details for their pretty wedding day near Preston.
A
fresh & bright
colour palette, beautiful blooms, a touch of twinkle and lots of surprises meant that Carla and Richard’s big day was one to remember.With images by Samantha Broadley Photography.
carla says:
We got engaged in June 2013. We were going on holiday to Mexico for 2 weeks and it was 6am and we were at home getting ready to drive to the airport. Richard sent me a Snapchat message of a ring in a box. It literally flashed on my screen for 1 second. I didn’t say anything as I thought he was winding me up. I asked him to help me fasten my suitcase and when I looked up he was down on one knee with the ring in his hand and asked me to marry him! It was such a lovely surprise proposing before we went away!
We got married at St.Peter’s Church, Quernmore, Nr. Lancaster on Friday 26th September 2014.
It is my family church, where I was christened, went to Sunday School and I went to the primary school next door. As soon as we got engaged I knew I had to get married in our family church. On the day, my emotions got the better of me and I cried the whole way down the aisle, it was such a special moment and a feeling I will never forget.
We were limited to venues, as we knew we had a large guest list and would need somewhere to accommodate 300 people. We visited The Villa at Wrea Green one Sunday morning without an appointment, the staff were so friendly and helpful from the first instance, and the function room and grounds were beautiful.
The Villa is the perfect venue for a wedding. The staff couldn’t do enough for us, not only on the day but also on the run up to the wedding and made our wedding feel very personal.
I’m not a girly girl, so I didn’t want pink, lacy decorations. We opted for a crisp white theme with a little bit of sparkle and a touch of duck egg blue.
I chose a Maggie Sottero A-line tulle dress from Butterfly Bridal in Lancaster. I tried lots of dresses on in numerous shops but kept going back to this particular dress. The 4th time I tried it on, I burst into tears and realised was the one. It was the complete opposite of what I had imagined I would choose, but I loved it and cried all the way home in the car, I was so happy!
Richard wore a slim-fit 3-piece navy suit from Butterfly Bridal in Lancaster, with a tie and brown tan shoes. He didn’t want a traditional morning suit and opted for a modern suit which all of his groomsmen would be comfortable in.
The bridesmaid dresses chose Mori Lee dresses from The Bridal Collection in Lancaster. The style suited all the girls and was very flattering of all their figures, I wanted to make sure they would be comfortable in their dresses so they could enjoy the day.
I carried a hand-tied posey of roses and calla lilies, in pale pinks, ivory and cream. The bridesmaids had a similar arrangement. These were supplied by The Flower Shop by Morgan at Garstang. They also provided the church flowers and flowers for the cake.
We hired 2 cars from Broughton Wedding Cars, a VW camper van for the bridesmaids and a Beauford Tourer as the bridal car.
However, Richard had booked a surprise helicopter to take us to the venue which he had only told his parents about. After the service, we drove off in our wedding car and stopped at his parent’s farm ‘for pictures’. As we pulled into the farm, I saw the helicopter in the field and couldn’t believe that he had arranged it for us. The flight was amazing as we flew over the church and along the coast to the venue. It was a surprise to all of our guests also, as we landed in the field outside The Villa!
The table centres and chair covers were from Linda at Sophisticated Events in St.Annes. We chose a white tree with white LED lights for the table centres. My Mum handmade the table plan from an old mirror, made wooden hearts for name places, the menu cards, card box and table name holders. She spent hours sticking tiny embellishments on everything but it all looked fabulous in the end! We used pictures of Richard and I at different ages for our table numbers to give a personal touch to each table.
We picked a simple white cake from Marks & Spencer, with 4 mixed tiers, and then decorated the ribbons ourselves to match the table plan.
Instead of wedding favours, we gave a donation of £150 to St. John’s Hospice in Lancaster, a place very close to our hearts as my Auntie was cared for there before she lost her battle with breast cancer a couple of years ago.
We used Samantha Broadley Photography.
Sam was the perfect wedding photographer, she was so friendly from our initial meeting and we got on so well with her. Sam had photographed a couple of my friend’s wedding in the summer we got engaged and was one of the first things I booked. I love her style of photo’s as they are very natural and capture intimate moments. On the day, we left it in Sam’s hands as we knew she would do a fantastic job and felt very relaxed.
Our videographer was Tom from Silk Wedding Films who did an unbelievable job of capturing our day on film. I originally didn’t want a videographer, but then I came across Tom’s website and instantly fell in love with his work. I cried at every film on his blog! I had a major Bridezilla moment and insisted that I had to have Tom film our day and I’m so glad I did as this is the best decision I made and our wedding film is epic!
Our band was called Bobby and Jemima aka Charlese and Matt, who describe themselves as ‘energetic, funk filled soul’. The dance floor was full all night and everybody has commented on how great they were.
My mother-in-law arranged a White LED sparkly dance floor for the evening reception as a surprise for Richard and I. It really added that final wow to the function room.
Apart from the surprise helicopter, my favourite part of the day was our photos we had taken at sunset. Our photographer found a farm lane and field with horses in behind the venue and took us out at sunset to capture some beautiful photographs. The colours in the pictures are unbelievable and I love how natural and happy we look. It was a perfect setting and something we hadn’t anticipated happening. If I could sum my wedding up in 3 words it would be ‘Husband, Helicopter and Horses’.
We went to Dubai for 3 nights and Mauritius for 10 nights on Honeymoon. We had a hectic 3 days in Dubai, taking in all the sights, it is such a fascinating city and we would highly recommend it. We then relaxed for 10 days at ‘Paradise Cove’, where we were treat like kings in a beachside suite. While in Mauritius we went on a trip where we walked with lions in the wild. This was an amazing experience as we walked alongside the lions that were free to roam where they wished.
As my husband always says that I’m the most organised person he knows, my tip to other Brides Up North would be to get organised as soon as possible. I had a monthly planner indicating what I had to do on the lead up to the wedding. This really helped me to make sure everything was booked and paid for when it needed to be and also so I didn’t forget anything in the few weeks beforehand when everything seems to happen all at once.
